Highly-scalable virtual IP addresses in a load balancing switch

ABSTRACT

In an example, there is disclosed a load balancing network apparatus, including a first network interface operable to communicatively couple to a first network; a plurality of second network interfaces operable to communicatively couple to a second network; and one or more logic elements providing a load balancing engine operable for: receiving an address mask; receiving an incoming network packet; masking a destination virtual network address with the address mask to match a plurality of virtual ip addresses; and load balancing the incoming network packet to the plurality of service nodes. There is also disclosed one or more computer-readable mediums including instructions for carrying out the operations, and a method of providing load balancing including carrying out the operations.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application61/152,172, titled “Highly Scaled Virtual IP Addresses for ITD,” filedApr. 24, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE SPECIFICATION

This disclosure relates in general to the field of computer networking,and more particularly to a system and method for highly-scaled virtualIP addresses for a load balancing switch.

BACKGROUND

Data centers are increasingly used by enterprises for effectivecollaboration, data storage, and resource management. A typical datacenter network contains myriad network elements including servers, loadbalancers, routers, switches, etc. The network connecting the networkelements provides secure user access to data center services and aninfrastructure for deployment, interconnection, and aggregation ofshared resources. Improving operational efficiency and optimizingutilization of resources in data centers are some of the challengesfacing data center managers. Data center managers seek a resilientinfrastructure that consistently supports diverse applications andservices. A properly planned data center network provides applicationand data integrity and, further, optimizes application availability andperformance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasizedthat, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, variousfeatures are not necessarily drawn to scale, and are used forillustration purposes only. Where a scale is shown, explicitly orimplicitly, it provides only one illustrative example. In otherexamples, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarilyincreased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1A is a network level diagram of an enterprise computingenvironment according to one or more examples of the presentSpecification;

FIG. 1B is a more detailed view of a computing cluster according to oneor more examples of the present Specification;

FIG. 2A is a is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a physicalview of a system for providing service appliances in a networkenvironment according to one or more examples of the presentSpecification;

FIG. 2B is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a logical view ofthe system according to one or more examples of the presentSpecification;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a network switch according to one or moreexamples of the present Specification.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a routing table according to one or moreexamples of the present Specification.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method performed by a switch according toone or more examples of the present Specification.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method of load balancing according to one ormore examples of the present Specification.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a method according to one or more examplesof the present Specification.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a network according to one or more examplesof the present specification.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a network according to one or more examplesof the present specification.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a method according to one or more examples ofthe present specification.

SUMMARY

In an example, there is disclosed a load balancing network apparatus,including a first network interface operable to communicatively coupleto a first network; a plurality of second network interfaces operable tocommunicatively couple to a second network; and one or more logicelements providing a load balancing engine operable for: receiving anaddress mask; receiving an incoming network packet; masking adestination virtual network address with the address mask to match aplurality of destination IP addresses; and load balancing the incomingnetwork packet to the plurality of service nodes. There is alsodisclosed one or more computer-readable mediums including instructionsfor carrying out the operations, and a method of providing loadbalancing including carrying out the operations.

Embodiments of the Disclosure

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the present disclosure.

In an example of a known computing system, a cluster of workload serversmay be provisioned, either as physical servers or as virtual machines,to provide a desired feature to end-users or clients. To provide justone nonlimiting example, the workload servers may provide a website.When a plurality of users make a large number of simultaneousconnections to the website, it is necessary to appropriately distributethe workload among the various servers in the server farm.

To this end, incoming traffic from client devices may be routed to anetwork switch. The network switch may then forward the traffic to aload balancer. An example of a commonly used load balancer is a networkappliance or virtual appliance running a Linux operating system andprovided with a full network stack, as well as load-balancing logic fordetermining which server to send the traffic to.

For example, a workload cluster may include 16 nodes, either physicalservers or virtual machines. The load balancer itself may also be eithera physical appliance or a virtual appliance. Upon receiving a packet,the load balancer determines the load on each of the 16 workloadservers. The load balancer then applies an algorithm to determine anappropriate node for handling the traffic. This may include, forexample, identifying a least burdened node and assigning the traffic tothat node. Each node may have its own IP address, which in oneembodiment is not exposed to end-user client devices. Rather, clientdevices are aware only of the IP address of the load balancer itself.Thus, the load balancer may modify the packet header, for example, byrewriting the destination virtual IP (VIP) to the IP address of one ofthe workload servers. The load balancer may then return the packet tothe switch, which routes the packet to the appropriate workload server.

In this example, the incoming packet transfers from the switch to theload balancer, which may provide the full OSI 7 layer “stack” insoftware, operating on a full-featured operating system, such as Linux.Thus, the incoming packet is abstracted up to one of the upper layers ofthe OSI model, such as layer 6 or 7, so that it can be handled by theload-balancing software. The packet is then de-abstracted to a lowerlayer and returned to the switch, which forwards it to the appropriateworkload server. Upon receiving the packet, the workload server againabstracts the packet up to one of the higher levels of the OSI model.

The inventors of the present Specification have recognized that the loadbalancer, and its overhead, represent a potential bottleneck thatreduces the scalability of the network environment, and slows downhandling of network traffic. The process of passing the packet up anddown the OSI stack, in particular, while very fast from a human point ofview, can be a significant bottleneck from the point of view of anetwork.

However, the named inventors of the present Application have recognizedthat a network device, such as a switch or a router, can be configuredto natively act as a load balancer in addition to performing itsordinary network switching function. In that case, rather than provide aload-balancing algorithm in an application running on an operatingsystem, the switch may provide load-balancing via a much fastersolution, such as programmable hardware rather than a general purposesoftware-driven processor. This means that the load-balancing logic ishandled mostly or entirely at the hardware level. Furthermore, theswitch generally operates at lower levels of the OSI model, such aslayers 1 and 2. Thus, it has reduced overhead in abstracting andde-abstracting packets through the OSI stack.

Thus, the switch itself becomes the load balancer, and rather thanacting as a bottleneck, is capable of providing terabit-class bandwidthby operating at the hardware level.

In an example, a concept of traffic buckets and nodes is described.Traffic may be divided into “buckets.” Each bucket may be assigned to anode.

A traffic bucket serves as a classifier for identifying a subset oftraffic to be redirected. As many traffic buckets can be created asneeded for granularity. For bucketization of traffic, various L2/L3header fields can be used in the algorithm.

By selecting different fields, many buckets can be created. By way ofexample, we can use B0, B1, B2, B3, B4 . . . . Bn to designate trafficbuckets.

A traffic node serves as a “next-hop” for traffic forwarding. A node isan entity that has an associated IP address reachable from the switch.By way of example, we can use N0, N1, N2, N3 . . . Nm to designatenodes.

Mapping can be established to associate a traffic bucket to a node. Thisassociation creates a packet path for forwarding of traffic for eachbucket. This can include one-to-one mapping of a traffic bucket to anode, or many-to-one mapping of traffic buckets to a node (i.e.,multiple nodes may be assigned to a single node).

This architecture realizes substantial advantages over certain existingdeployments. For example, some existing load balancers suffer fromshortcomings such as inefficiency and expense. In one example, a lowcapacity load-balancer provides approximately 40 Gbps, while ahigher-end load balancer provides approximately 200 Gbps.

As discussed above, speed and scalability are enhanced by programmingthe load balancing engine in programmable hardware rather than insoftware running on a general-purpose processor programmed by software.Programmable hardware includes, for example, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA),programmable logic array (PLA), or similar. Because the logic isimplemented directly in hardware, it can execute a “program” orders ofmagnitude faster than a CPU, which must fetch instructions from memory,and then run those instructions on general-purpose hardware.Furthermore, an operating system, multitasking, and multi-layer networkstack introduce additional complexity that does not contribute directlyto carrying out the load balancing function. In short, asoftware-programmable CPU is extremely versatile, and its function maybe easily adapted to many different tasks, but it is relatively slow. Adedicated programmable hardware device, programmed only for a singlefunction, is not versatile, but carries out its single, dedicatedfunction very quickly.

In one example, a hardware-based load balancer of the presentSpecification must be able to handle both traffic that is to be loadbalanced, and traffic that does not require load balancing. Fornon-load-balanced traffic, the device should still perform its nativefunction as a switch or router, and simply switch or route the trafficas appropriate.

To aid in this, and to preserve the speed advantage of the programmablehardware-based load balancing engine, it is advantageous not to storedata values in standard memories such as random access memories (RAM),as this could negate the speed advantages of the hardware. Rather, inone example, a ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM) is provided,and may be capable of operating at speeds approaching the speed of theprogrammable hardware itself. A content-addressable memory (CAM) is aspecies of memory used in extremely high-speed searches, such as thosenecessary for native terabit-class load balancing. CAM compares thesearch input (tag) to a table of stored data, and returns the address ofmatching datum. This is in contrast to RAM, in which the programprovides an address, and the RAM returns a value stored at that address.When a search is performed, if the CAM finds a match for the tag, theCAM returns the address of the tag, and optionally, the value of the tagas well. If the tag is not found, a “not found” value is returned. TCAMis a species of CAM, in which a tag can be searched not only for abinary “1” or “0,” but also for a ternary “X” (don't care). In otherwords, the search tag “110X” matches both “1101” and “1100.”

In the context of load balancing, a network administrator may configurea virtual IP (VIP) tag, including in one example an IP address,protocol, and port number. Entries may be made in the TCAM for VIP tagsthat are to be load balanced.

The switch advertises the VIP tag via routing protocols, and receivestraffic destined for VIP. When traffic enters the switch or router, theVIP tag is checked against entries in the TCAM. If there is a matchingentry, the traffic is to be load balanced. The traffic is thenbucketized and load balanced to each node using TCAM entries.

This architecture realizes several important advantages. As servers movefrom 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps, traditional software load balancers have toscale appropriately. Load balancer appliances and service modules alsoconsume rack-space, power, wiring and cost. However, in an embodiment ofthe present Specification:

Every port of a switch or router can act as a load-balancer.

No external appliance and no service module are needed.

The teachings of this Specification can be used to provide terabit-classload balancing.

Furthermore, scalability is greatly enhanced. Many network switches havethe ability to modularly increase their size by adding on I/O modules.For example, a switch may have a baseline size of 48 ports, wherein eachport can be connected to one physical server appliance. The physicalserver appliance may be a standalone appliance providing the workloadservice, or may be a server configured to provide a hypervisor and tolaunch instances of virtual machines on demand. If the 48 ports on theswitch are exhausted, an additional I/O module, for example providing anadditional 48 ports, may be added onto the switch. Thus, the switch canbe scaled up to extremely large sizes with minimal configuration. Theswitch itself may be provided with a load-balancing engine, which inthis case may include dedicated hardware, firmware, or very low-levelsoftware such as BIOS to provide the load-balancing logic.

As a further enhancement of the foregoing load balancing switch, the VIPof tags can be highly scalable so that the system can be deployed onvery large networks. This method realized significant advantages overmethods that may rely, for example, on subnetwork designations.

For example, certain existing systems are able to direct traffic to asubnetwork. In this case, the subnetwork may be addressed by an IPaddress, along with a subnetwork specifier, which indicates a number ofupper bits to evaluate (the network prefix), with the lower bits beingignored (thus providing a range of IP addresses). In other words, all IPaddresses within the ignored portion are part of the designatedsubnetwork. This is commonly denoted in Classless Inter-Domain Routing(CIDR) notation by a “/” followed by the number of bits to evaluate. Auseful example is the subnetwork 10.10.10.0/24. This means that thesubnetwork includes all IP addresses whose upper 24 bits are “10.10.10.”The final eight bits are ignored in evaluating the subnetwork address,meaning that this subnetwork spans the addresses10.10.10.0-10.10.10.255.

Consider, however, a large-scale network deployment in which traffic isto be load balanced to many subnetworks, which may be either identical,or very different, but each of which has some common characteristics.For example, each subnetwork may have a firewall node that will screentraffic before it is passed on to the subnetwork, or an antivirus node,or even a second-tier load balancer, by way of nonlimiting example. Nowconsider that for purposes of efficiency and consistency, eachsubnetwork has this common node at a similar address. For example, theremay be up to 255 subnetworks of the form 10.x.10.0-10.x.10.255, with thesubnetwork number designated by the “x.” On each subnetwork, thefirewall appliance is given IP address 10.x.10.9.

In this case, rather than matching a whole subnetwork, it may bedesirable to scale VIPs by matching the “x” part of the address.However, this does not work with CIDR notation, because the CIDRnotation is designed to treat only the lower bits as “wildcard” bits.

To accommodate such scalability, the present specification describes amethod of designating a VIP not in terms of just a simple subnetwork,but rather as a bitmask that may use any number of bits in any portionof the address as a wildcard. Throughout this specification, a bitmaskwill be set off from the IP address by “-” so as not to be confused withCIDR notation.

In the foregoing example, the scalable VIP 10.0.10.9-ff00ffff may beused to designate all “0.9” addresses within any subnetwork matching theform 10.x.10.0/24. Thus, a routing table within a TCAM may include anentry wherein the VIP has an applied bitmask, so that an incoming packetmatching a particular rule can be load balanced to plurality of servicenodes.

Advantageously, the bitmasks described herein are flexible, in that theycan be used to match any number of bits at any position within anaddress, thus enabling enterprise-class scalability that can adapt toeven very large networks. As this method can also be used with IPv6addresses, the scalability of this method is, as a practical matter,arbitrarily large.

A system and method for native load balancing on a switch will now bedescribed with more particular reference to the attached FIGURES.Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below tosimplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examplesand are not intended to be limiting. Further, the present disclosure mayrepeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. Thisrepetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not initself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/orconfigurations discussed. Different embodiments many have differentadvantages, and no particular advantage is necessarily required of anyembodiment.

In some embodiments, hyphenated reference numerals, such as 10-1 and10-2, may be used to refer to multiple instances of the same or asimilar item 10, or to different species of a genus 10.

FIG. 1A is a network-level diagram of a secured enterprise 100 accordingto one or more examples of the present Specification. In the example ofFIG. 1, a plurality of users 120 operates a plurality of client devices110. Specifically, user 120-1 operates desktop computer 110-1. User120-2 operates laptop computer 110-2. And user 120-3 operates mobiledevice 110-3.

Each computing device may include an appropriate operating system, suchas Microsoft Windows, Linux, Android, Mac OSX, Apple iOS, Unix, orsimilar. Some of the foregoing may be more often used on one type ofdevice than another. For example, desktop computer 110-1, which in oneembodiment may be an engineering workstation, may be more likely to useone of Microsoft Windows, Linux, Unix, or Mac OSX. Laptop computer110-2, which is usually a portable off-the-shelf device with fewercustomization options, may be more likely to run Microsoft Windows orMac OSX. Mobile device 110-3 may be more likely to run Android or iOS.However, these examples are not intended to be limiting.

Client devices 110 may be any suitable computing devices. In variousembodiments, a “computing device” may be or comprise, by way ofnon-limiting example, a computer, workstation, server, mainframe,embedded computer, embedded controller, embedded sensor, personaldigital assistant, laptop computer, cellular telephone, IP telephone,smart phone, tablet computer, convertible tablet computer, computingappliance, network appliance, receiver, wearable computer, handheldcalculator, virtual machine, virtual appliance, or any other electronic,microelectronic, or microelectromechanical device for processing andcommunicating data.

Client devices 110 may be communicatively coupled to one another and toother network resources via enterprise network 170. Enterprise network170 may be any suitable network or combination of one or more networksoperating on one or more suitable networking protocols, including forexample, a local area network, an intranet, a virtual network, a widearea network, a wireless network, a cellular network, or the Internet(optionally accessed via a proxy, virtual machine, or other similarsecurity mechanism) by way of nonlimiting example. Enterprise network170 may also include one or more servers, firewalls, routers, switches,security appliances, antivirus servers, or other useful network devices.In this illustration, enterprise network 170 is shown as a singlenetwork for simplicity, but in some embodiments, enterprise network 170may include a large number of networks, such as one or more enterpriseintranets connected to the Internet. Enterprise network 170 may alsoprovide access to an external network, such as the Internet, viaexternal network 172. External network 172 may similarly be any suitabletype of network.

A network administrator 150 may operate an administration console 140 toadminister a workload cluster 142 and to otherwise configure and enforceenterprise computing and security policies.

Enterprise 100 may encounter a variety of “network objects” on thenetwork. A network object may be any object that operates on orinteracts with enterprise network 170. In one example, objects may bebroadly divided into hardware objects, including any physical devicethat communicates with or operates via the network, and softwareobjects. Software objects may be further subdivided as “executableobjects” and “static objects.” Executable objects include any objectthat can actively execute code or operate autonomously, such asapplications, drivers, programs, executables, libraries, processes,runtimes, scripts, macros, binaries, interpreters, interpreted languagefiles, configuration files with inline code, embedded code, and firmwareinstructions by way of non-limiting example. A static object may bebroadly designated as any object that is not an executable object orthat cannot execute, such as documents, pictures, music files, textfiles, configuration files without inline code, videos, and drawings byway of non-limiting example. In some cases, hybrid software objects mayalso be provided, for example, a word processing document with built-inmacros or an animation with inline code. For security purposes, thesemay be considered as a separate class of software object, or may simplybe treated as executable objects.

Enterprise security policies may include authentication policies,network usage policies, network resource quotas, antivirus policies, andrestrictions on executable objects on client devices 110 by way ofnon-limiting example. Various network servers may provide substantiveservices such as routing, networking, enterprise data services, andenterprise applications.

Secure enterprise 100 may communicate across enterprise boundary 104with external network 172. Enterprise boundary 104 may represent aphysical, logical, or other boundary. External network 172 may include,for example, websites, servers, network protocols, and othernetwork-based services. In one example, a wireless base station 130, anexternal server 180, and an application repository 182 may be providedon external network 172, by way of nonlimiting example. Wireless basestation 130 may be, for example, an LTE base station or other similardevice that connects to mobile device 110-3 wirelessly. Wireless basestation 130 may in turn communicatively couple to external network 172.External server 180 may be a server that provides web pages, data, orother resources that enterprise users 120 may need to use.

Application repository 182 may represent a Windows or Apple “App Store”or update service, a Unix-like repository or ports collection, or othernetwork service providing users 120 the ability to interactively orautomatically download and install applications on client devices 110.In some cases, secured enterprise 100 may provide policy directives thatrestrict the types of applications that can be installed fromapplication repository 182. Thus, application repository 182 may includesoftware that is not malicious, but that is nevertheless against policy.For example, some enterprises restrict installation of entertainmentsoftware like media players and games. Thus, even a secure media playeror game may be unsuitable for an enterprise computer. Securityadministrator 150 may be responsible for distributing a computing policyconsistent with such restrictions and enforcing it on client devices120.

In another example, secured enterprise 100 may simply be a family, withparents assuming the role of security administrator 150. The parents maywish to protect their children from undesirable content, such aspornography, adware, spyware, age-inappropriate content, advocacy forcertain political, religious, or social movements, or forums fordiscussing illegal or dangerous activities, by way of non-limitingexample. In this case, the parent may perform some or all of the dutiesof security administrator 150.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram disclosing a workload cluster 142 accordingto one or more examples of the present Specification. In this example,workload cluster 142 includes a rack mount chassis 144 which hasinstalled therein a plurality of rack mount servers 146-1 through 146-N.Each rack mount server 146 may be a dedicated appliance, or may beconfigured with a hypervisor to launch one or more instances of avirtual client.

A switch 190 may be provided to communicatively couple workload cluster142 to enterprise network 170. As described below, switch 190 may have anumber of physical ports for communicatively coupling to rack mountservers 146. In an example, each server 146 has a physical wiredconnection, such as an Ethernet connection, to a single port of switch190.

In some cases, some or all of rack mount servers 146-1 through 146-N arededicated to providing a microcloud 160. Microcloud 160 may be a singlepurpose or dedicated cloud providing a particular service. For example,microcloud 160 may be configured to serve a website, providecommunication systems such as one or more 4G LTE services, or any otherappropriate service. In some cases, microcloud 160 is provided as a“tenant” on workload cluster 142. Workload cluster 142 may provide avirtual environment manager 164, which may be responsible for enforcingtenant boundaries between one or more microcloud tenants 160, and fordynamically provisioning virtual machines 162 as necessary. Virtualmachines 162-1 through 162-N may represent a plurality of instances of avirtual server appliance. In some cases, VMs 162 may also be provided indifferent flavors. For example, some VMs 162 may be provisioned asfirewalls, others may be provisioned as antivirus scanning appliance,and yet others may provide other auxiliary functions, in addition to VMs162 provisioned as workload servers.

When switch 190 is provisioned with a load-balancing engine, theload-balancing engine is responsible for keeping track of the number andIP address of workload servers, so that it can properly route traffic tothe workload servers. In the case where each rack mount server 146 is astandalone appliance, switch 190 may maintain a table of the VIP of eachrack mount server 146. In cases where workload servers are provided in amicrocloud 160, switch 190 may provide a table that maps the VIP of eachVM to a IP address of each VM on the physical rack mount server 146 onwhich that VM 162 resides. Thus, switch 190 may include logic not onlyfor routing the packet to the correct rack mount server 146, but alsofor directing the packet to the correct VM 162 on that rack mount server146.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show examples of a system architecture for providingservice appliances in a network environment, and specifically, providingservice appliances as virtual line cards in a network switch. Thevirtual line card allows the service appliances to be located anywherein the network, but other ways of providing the service appliance (e.g.,directly connecting the service appliance on the switch) are alsopossible. It is noted that the examples are merely illustrative and arenot intended to be limiting. Other architectures and configurations areenvisioned by the disclosure.

FIG. 2A is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a physical viewof a system 110 for providing service appliances in a networkenvironment. FIG. 2A includes a network (illustrated as multiple links212) that connects one or more server farms 142-1 and 142-2 to one ormore clients 110 via a cloud 210. Cloud 210 may encompass any public,semi-public, and/or private networks including enterprise networks, anInternet or intranet, community networks, etc. Individual servers inserver farm 142-1 and 142-2 may communicate within the same farm viaswitches 240-1 and 240-2, respectively. Servers in server farm 142-1 maycommunicate with servers in server farm 142-2 via a switch 190 in thisparticular example implementation.

A service appliance 224 may connect to switch 190 over a communicationchannel 226 (e.g., over a port-channel). As used herein, a“communication channel” encompasses a physical transmission medium(e.g., a wire), or a logical connection (e.g., a radio channel, anetwork connection) used to convey information signals (e.g., datapackets, control packets, etc.) from one or more senders (e.g., switch190) to one or more receivers (e.g., service appliance 224). Acommunication channel, as used herein, can include one or morecommunication links, which may be physical (e.g., wire) or logical(e.g., data link, wireless link, etc.). Termination points ofcommunication channels can include interfaces such as Ethernet ports,serial ports, etc. In embodiments of system 110, communication channel326 may be a single channel: deployed for both control messages (i.e.,messages that include control packets) and data messages (i.e., messagesthat include data packets).

As used herein, a “service appliance” is a discrete (and generallyseparate) hardware device or virtual machine with integrated software(e.g., firmware), designed to provide one or more network servicesincluding load balancing, firewall, intrusion prevention, virtualprivate network (VPN), proxy, etc. In some cases, switch 190 may beconfigured with an intelligent service card manager module (ISCM) 220,and service appliance 224 may be configured with a correspondingintelligent service card client module (ISCC) 230. ISCM 220 and ISCC 230can form part of a Remote Integrated Service Engine (RISE)infrastructure for configuring service appliance 224 on the switch,e.g., as a virtual line card in switch 190.

FIG. 2B is a simplified schematic diagram illustrating a logical view ofsystem 110. In some cases, ISCC 230 and ISCM 220 may be configured toallow service appliance 224 to appear as a virtual line card 290, orsome other virtual network node/entity. The terms “line card” and“service module” are interchangeably used herein to refer to modularelectronic circuits interfacing with telecommunication lines (such ascopper wires or optical fibers) and that offer a pathway to the rest ofa telecommunications network. Service appliance is often referred simplyas “appliance” or “module” herein. Hence, virtual line card 290 isinterchangeable (in certain instances) with ISCM 220. A virtual servicemodule (or a virtual line card) is a logical instance (of a servicemodule) providing the same functionalities (as the service module).Service modules may perform various functions including providingnetwork services (e.g., similar to service appliances). One differencebetween a service module and a service appliance is that the servicemodule is physically located within a switch, for example, on anappropriate slot. Virtual service modules are similarly configurablewithin a switch.

In an example, RISE (or comparable technologies) allows (external)service appliances connect to a switch and behave like a service modulewithin a switch without having to take up a physical slot in the switch.RISE helps consolidate how the appliances are provisioned, and enablesthe appliances to have the benefits of being a service module within theswitch. The task for provisioning and configuring of these serviceappliances is performed mostly by RISE being provided on the switch,making it easy for network administrators to add/remove serviceappliances in the network.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, an appliance usercan enjoy the same benefit of a service module's simple configurationand operation using the infrastructure of system 110. For example,setting up service appliance 224 for network configurations may beunnecessary. Substantially all such configurations may be made viaswitch 190, instead of service appliance 224. Service appliance 224 mayoffload (i.e., transfer) any network (e.g., L2/L3 network) specificcontrol plane and data plane operations to switch 190. Data pathacceleration that leverages an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC) (potentially embedded in switch 190) may also be possible invarious embodiments. Switch 190 may communicate control messages toservice appliance 224 over communication channel 326. Thus,configuration and provisioning of services within service appliance 224may be implemented via switch 190.

Note that the numerical and letter designations assigned to the elementsof FIGS. 2A and 2B do not connote any type of hierarchy; thedesignations are arbitrary and have been used for purposes of teachingonly. Such designations should not be construed in any way to limittheir capabilities, functionalities, or applications in the potentialenvironments that may benefit from the features of system 110. For easeof description, only two representative server farms are illustrated inFIGS. 2A and 2B. Any number of server farms and switches may beconnected in the network without departing from the broad scope of thepresent disclosure.

For purposes of illustrating the techniques of system 110, it isimportant to understand the communications in a given system such as thesystem shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The following foundational informationmay be viewed as a basis from which the present disclosure may beproperly explained. Such information is offered earnestly for purposesof explanation only and, accordingly, should not be construed in any wayto limit the broad scope of the present disclosure and its potentialapplications.

Typically, network services such as load balancing, firewall, intrusionprevention, proxy, virtual private network (VPN), etc. are providedthrough one or more of the following options: (1) service appliancesthat connect to network switches and routers; (2) specially designedhigh-performance routers configured with the services; or (3) networkdevices such as routers or switches that are configured with servicemodules that provide the services.

Some service appliances (e.g., load balancers) integrate services suchas load balancing, firewall, intrusion prevention, VPN, etc. in a singlebox format, which is generally based on modular, scalable platforms andwhich provides a cost-effective option of the three options listedpreviously. Service appliances may be connected externally to a switch(e.g., aggregate switch or access switch, etc.) via appropriate ports.Different service appliances are designed with specific featuresapplicable to different network environments. The service appliances maybe deployed independently to service-specific areas of the networkinfrastructure, or they may be combined for a layered approach. Serviceappliances are typically located between the clients and server farms.Data packets generally pass through the service appliances on the way to(and from) the servers/clients. The service appliances may be managed bya management application (e.g., software) on the service appliance thatenables configuration settings and other management functions.

Specially designed high-performance routers may also provide networkservices. Such routers may implement a massive parallel processorhardware and software architecture to deliver integrated networkservices (e.g., firewall, deep packet inspection, etc.). Many of thefunctionalities are embedded in a specially designed processor in therouter. For example, such a specially designed router can provide anintegrated security solution (e.g., stateful packet filtering, intrusiondetection and prevention, per-user authentication and authorization, VPNcapability, extensive QoS mechanisms, multiprotocol routing, voiceapplication support, and integrated WAN interface support) and routingin a single box.

Network services may also be integrated into a network device (such as aswitch or router) using dedicated line cards. The line cards may beinstalled inside the device, allowing any port on the device to operateas a firewall port, while integrating the services inside the networkinfrastructure. Several line cards may be installed in the same chassis,providing a modular solution where needed. Such solutions permit theuser to take advantage of existing switching and routing infrastructurewithout any costly upgrades.

Turning to the potential infrastructure of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the examplenetwork environment may be configured as one or more networks and,further, may be configured in any form including, but not limited to,local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs),virtual local area networks (VLANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs),wide area networks (WANs), VPNs, Intranet, Extranet, any otherappropriate architecture or system, or any combination thereof thatfacilitates communications in a network. In some embodiments, acommunication link may represent any electronic link supporting a LANenvironment such as, for example, cable, Ethernet, wireless technologies(e.g., IEEE 802.11x), ATM, fiber optics, etc. or any suitablecombination thereof. In other embodiments, communication links mayrepresent a remote connection through any appropriate medium (e.g.,digital subscriber lines (DSL), telephone lines, T1 lines, T3 lines,wireless, satellite, fiber optics, cable, Ethernet, etc. or anycombination thereof) and/or through any additional networks such as awide area networks (e.g., the Internet).

Elements of FIGS. 2A and 2B may be coupled to one another through one ormore interfaces employing any suitable connection (wired or wireless),which provides a viable pathway for electronic communications.Additionally, any one or more of these elements may be combined orremoved from the architecture based on particular configuration needs.System 110 may include a configuration capable of transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) communications for the electronictransmission or reception of packets in a network. System 110 may alsooperate in conjunction with a user datagram protocol/IP (UDP/IP) or anyother suitable protocol, where appropriate and based on particularneeds. In addition, gateways, routers, switches, and any other suitablenetwork elements may be used to facilitate electronic communicationbetween various nodes in the network.

Switches in system 110, including switches 190, 240-1, and 240-2, mayinclude any type of network element connecting network segments. Forexample, switches 190, 240-1, and 240-2 may include a multi-port networkbridge that processes and routes data at a data link layer (Layer 2). Inanother example, switches 190, 240-1, and 240-2 may process data at anetwork layer (Layer 3), or Layer 4 (with network address translationand load distribution), or Layer 7 (load distribution based onapplication specific transactions), or at multiple layers (e.g., Layer 2and Layer 3). In certain embodiments, functionalities of switches 190,240-1, and 240-2 may be integrated into other network devices such asgateways, routers, or servers. In various embodiments, switches 190,240-1, and 240-2 may be managed switches (e.g., managed using a commandline interface (CLI), a web interface, etc.).

Communication channel 326 may include a port-channel, which canencompass an aggregation of multiple physical interfaces into onelogical interface, for example, to provide higher aggregated bandwidth,load balancing and link redundancy. Communication channel 326 withmultiple links can provide a high availability channel: if one linkfails, traffic previously carried on this link can be switched to theremaining links. Communication channel 326 may contain up to 16 physicalcommunication links and may span multiple modules for added highavailability. In one embodiment, communication channel 326 can representa port-channel with an aggregation of four point-to-point communicationlinks over multiple ports. In another embodiment, communication channel326 can represent a virtual port-channel (vPC).

Although FIGS. 2A and 2B show server farms 142-1 and 142-2, it should beappreciated that system 110 is not limited to servers. In fact, anynetwork element may be connected to the network via appropriateswitches, where these implementations may be based on particular needs.As used herein, the term “network element” is meant to encompasscomputers, virtual machines, network appliances, servers, routers,switches, gateways, bridges, load balancers, firewalls, processors,modules, or any other suitable device, component, proprietary element,or object operable to exchange information in a network environment.Moreover, the network elements may include any suitable hardware,software, components, modules, interfaces, or objects that facilitatethe operations thereof. This may be inclusive of appropriate algorithmsand communication protocols that allow for the effective exchange ofdata or information. For example, server farms 142-1 and 142-2 may bereplaced with LANs connecting desktop computers in a small office. Inanother example, server farms 142-1 and 142-2 may be replaced with anetwork of wireless communication devices. In yet another example,server farms 142-1 and 142-2 may be replaced with one or moresupercomputers. Various other configurations and devices arecontemplated within the broad framework of the present disclosure.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, system 110 mayprovide for a fabric extender (FEX)-like protocol, auto-discovery,message transport service (MTS)-like control messages, and definedmessages between service appliance 224 and switch 190. Configuration ofservice appliance 224 may be performed on switch 190 as for a line card.Data path forwarding may be offloaded to network line cards in switch190. Control path processing may be offloaded to a supervisor engine onswitch 190 as appropriate. In embodiments where service appliance 224has multiple virtual services (e.g., virtual machines), each virtualservice may be a separate virtual line card on switch 190.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustrating example details ofsystem 110 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Asupervisor engine 360 on switch 190 may communicate with serviceappliance 224 via a line card including a fabric port 362 that connectspoint-to-point to a node on service appliance 224. Supervisor engine 360may include several modules such as an installer 364, an Ethernet portmanager (ethPM) 366, a port-channel manager (PCM) 368, a Quality ofService (QoS) element 370, a route policy manager (RPM) 372, aunified/unicast routing information base (URIB) 374, an access controllist manager (ACLmgr) 376, and a service policy manager (SPM) 378 forperforming various routing and/or management functions. ISCM 220 may beprovisioned in supervisor engine 360 to provide RISE relatedfunctionalities. ISCM 220 may manage one or more service modules,including in-chassis service modules and remote service modules.

In various embodiments, service appliance 224 may support stream controltransmission protocol (SCTP) with various addresses (e.g., 127addresses). In the absence of native SCTP support in supervisor engine360, tunneling over UDP may be enforced to send SCTP packets. A Netstackmodule 380 may be provisioned in supervisor engine 360 for implementingTCP/IP stack for received frames hitting the control-plane of supervisorengine 360. Supervisor engine 360 may be configured with an inband port352, which may be a virtual port that provides an interface formanagement traffic (such as auto-discovery) to a management processorsuch as a processor 386.

Each logical block disclosed herein is broadly intended to include oneor more logic elements configured and operable for providing thedisclosed logical operation of that block. As used throughout thisSpecification, “logic elements” may include hardware, external hardware(digital, analog, or mixed-signal), software, reciprocating software,services, drivers, interfaces, components, modules, algorithms, sensors,components, firmware, microcode, programmable logic, or objects that cancoordinate to achieve a logical operation.

In various examples, a “processor” may include any combination of logicelements, including by way of non-limiting example a microprocessor,digital signal processor, field-programmable gate array, graphicsprocessing unit, programmable logic array, application-specificintegrated circuit, or virtual machine processor. In certainarchitectures, a multi-core processor may be provided, in which caseprocessor 386 may be treated as only one core of a multi-core processor,or may be treated as the entire multi-core processor, as appropriate. Insome embodiments, one or more co-processor may also be provided forspecialized or support functions. In some examples, the processor is aprogrammable hardware device, which in this Specification expresslyexcludes a general-purpose CPU.

Load balancing engine 320, in one example, is operable to carry outcomputer-implemented methods as described in this Specification. Loadbalancing engine 320 may include one or more processors, and one or morenon-transitory computer-readable mediums having stored thereonexecutable instructions operable to instruct a processor to provide loadbalancing. As used throughout this Specification, an “engine” includesany combination of one or more logic elements, of similar or dissimilarspecies, operable for and configured to perform one or more methodsprovided by load balancing engine 320. Thus, load balancing engine 320may comprise one or more logic elements configured to provide methods asdisclosed in this Specification. In some cases, load balancing engine320 may include a special integrated circuit designed to carry out amethod or a part thereof, and may also include software instructionsoperable to instruct a processor to perform the method. In some cases,load balancing engine 320 may run as a “daemon” process. A “daemon” mayinclude any program or series of executable instructions, whetherimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof,that runs as a background process, a terminate-and-stay-residentprogram, a service, system extension, control panel, bootup procedure,BIOS subroutine, or any similar program that operates without directuser interaction. In certain embodiments, daemon processes may run withelevated privileges in a “driver space,” or in ring 0, 1, or 2 in aprotection ring architecture. It should also be noted that loadbalancing engine 320 may also include other hardware and software,including configuration files, registry entries, and interactive oruser-mode software by way of non-limiting example.

In one example, load balancing engine 320 includes executableinstructions stored on a non-transitory medium operable to perform amethod according to this Specification. At an appropriate time, such asupon booting the device or upon a command from the operating system or auser, load balancing engine 320 may retrieve a copy of software fromstorage and load it into memory. The processor may then iterativelyexecute the instructions of load balancing engine 320 to provide thedesired method.

In another example, load balancing engine 320 includes logic executed onan ASIC, FPGA, or other low-level hardware device specificallyprogrammed to carry out the functions of load balancing engine 320. Inone case, any portions of load balancing engine 320 that are nothard-coded into the logic may be loaded from a firmware or similarmemory. In this case, load-balancing engine 320 may operate without thebenefit of an operating system, to improve speed and efficiency.

Load balancing engine 320 may also communicatively couple to a TCAM 329.TCAM 329 may be configured to provide high-speed searching as disclosedherein.

According to various embodiments, ISCM 220 may offer variousfunctionalities such as handling (i.e., accommodating, managing,processing, etc.) RISE messages (e.g., in MTS format), high availabilityactivities, timer events, packet switch stream (PSS), American StandardCode for Information Interchange (ASCII) generation, logging, eventhandling, health monitoring, debugging, etc. ISCM 220 may be a finitestate machine utility (FSMU) based application (e.g., which indicates anabstract machine that can be in one of a finite number of states). Invarious embodiments, ISCM 220 may have a well-defined MTS seamlessauthentication protocol (MTS SAP) assigned and it can open asocket-based MTS queue and bind to the well-defined SAP such that otherprocesses may communicate with it.

In various embodiments, ISCM 220 may also maintain an array of MTSoperation code (“opcode”), which can define how to process a receivedMTS message. The array may include per-opcode specific MTS flags,handler functions, etc. ISCM 220 may be configured to receive CLI drivenMTS messages, MTS notifications (such as event driven messagesindicating, for example, that a particular VLAN is up or down), and MTSrequest/responses. In various embodiments, ISCM 220 may be configured sothat MTS-based communication with other processes may be non-blockingand asynchronous. Thus, ISCM 220 may handle multiple events (which canarrive at any time) for the same resource such that the state of theresource is consistent (and not compromised). A similar opcode can beprovided even in non-MTS messages, which serves to indicate how to aswitch or a service can process the message.

After ports (e.g., appliance ports and switch ports) have beenconfigured in RISE mode, ISCM 220 and ISCC 230 may performauto-discovery and bootstrap to establish an appropriate controlchannel. After the control channel is established, applications inservice appliance 224 may send control messages (e.g., using the UDPsocket interface) to ISCC 230 through an application control plane 384.Application control plane 384 generally encompasses one or more softwarecomponents for performing workflow management, self-management, andother application control layer processes. ISCC 230 may forward thecontrol messages to ISCM 220 of switch 190 over communication channel326. In example embodiments, ISCM 220 and ISCC 230 may communicate viaUDP packets; however, various other protocols and formats may beaccommodated by the teachings of the present disclosure. Supervisor 360may be provisioned with (or have access to) processor 386 and a memory388 for performing its various functions. ISCM 220 may use processor 386and memory 388 to perform RISE related functions in switch 190.Similarly, service appliance 224 may be provisioned with (or have accessto) a processor 390 and a memory 392. ISCC 230 may use processor 390 andmemory 392 to perform RISE related functions in service appliance 224.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a routing table 400 according to one ormore examples of the present Specification. In this example, four nodesare provided, designated node N0, N1, N2, and N3. Each node represents aserver appliance having a unique VIP, whether a dedicated hardwareserver appliance or a virtual server appliance.

Load-balancing engine 320 designates 8 traffic buckets, labeled B0, B1,B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, and B7. Based on load and demand, load-balancingengine 320 maps each traffic bucket to an appropriate node. In thisexample, buckets B0 and B4 are mapped to node N0. Buckets B1 and B5 aremapped to node N1. Buckets B2 and B6 are mapped to node N2. Buckets B3and B7 are mapped to node N3. These mappings are provided by way ofnonlimiting example only, and are provided strictly to illustrate theprinciple of mapping buckets to nodes.

When switch 190 receives incoming traffic, load-balancing engine 320operates to execute an appropriate algorithm for assigning the incomingtraffic to a traffic bucket. This may include, for example, random orpseudorandom assignment, round robin scheduling, or any suitablescheduling algorithm. In one example, an algorithm may be based on thesource IP address of the incoming packet, as described in more detail inconnection with FIGS. 7 and 8.

After assigning the traffic to a bucket, switch 194 modifies the packetwith the appropriate VIP for the node servicing that bucket, andforwards the packet.

When a response comes, switch 194 modifies the packet to reflect thepublically visible IP address of switch 194, so that the load balancingis completely invisible to external hosts.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method 500 performed byload-balancing engine 320 according to one or more examples of thepresent Specification.

In block 510, switch 190 receives incoming traffic and provides theincoming traffic to load-balancing engine 320.

In block 520, switch 190 compares the destination IP of the incomingtraffic to the VIP designated for load balancing. If there is a match,the incoming traffic is provided to load balancing engine 320 for loadbalancing. If not, then switch 190 simply routes or switches the trafficaccording to its normal function.

In block 530, load-balancing engine 320 assesses workload balance foravailable workload servers. As described above, this may be performedvia round-robin assignment, random or pseudo-random assignment, or anyother suitable load balancing algorithm.

In block 540, load-balancing engine 320 identifies the best availablenode for servicing the incoming traffic, based on the assessing of block530.

In block 550, according to the identifying of block 540, load-balancingengine 320 assigns the incoming traffic to a bucket for associated withthe best available node. Assigning to a node may comprise modifying theheader to reflect the VIP for the assigned node.

In block 570, after load-balancing engine 320 has assigned the trafficto an appropriate bucket and thereby to an appropriate node, switch 190forwards the incoming traffic to the node designated for servicing thatbucket, specifically by forwarding the traffic to the appropriate VIP.

In block 580, load-balancing engine 320 may log the transaction, asappropriate or necessary.

In block 590, the method is done.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method of performing load balancing on a switchwith the aid of a TCAM, such as TCAM 329 according to one or moreexamples of the present Specification. This example employs the notionof a flow. In an example, a flow is uniquely identified by a tuple T,comprising src-ip (source IP address), dst-ip (destination IP address),protocol, L4-src-port (layer 4 source port) and L4-dst-port (layer 4destination port).

In an example, a client device 110-1 sends a packet directed to a VIPserviced by switch 190. By way of illustration, this flow is referred toas F1, and tuple T1 identifies flow F1. Tuple T1 comprises(Dev-110-1-IP, VIP, TCP, L4-src-port, L4-dest-port).

Similarly client device 110-2 initiates traffic to the same VIP. Sinceclient 110-2's IP address is different from client 110-1's, this flowwill have a different Tuple. By way of illustration, this is referred toas flow F2, identified by tuple T2. Tuple T2 comprises (Dev-110-2-IP,VIP, TCP, L4-src-port, L4-dest-port).

In various examples, sets of buckets may be part of a “pool,” and one ormore pools can be assigned to a single VIP, allowing VIP traffic to beload balanced among server nodes.

Referring now to method 600 in FIG. 6, it is assumed that switch 190 hasnow received flows F1 and F2.

In block 610, TCAM 329 looks up the IP address of VIP as it appears inboth flows. In this example, both flows are directed to VIP, which is avirtual IP address for a service provided by servers in workload cluster142. Thus, switch 190 can quickly determine that flows F1 and F2 are tobe load balanced.

In block 620, load balancing engine 320 assigns each node to a trafficbucket as described herein. In certain examples, this may beaccomplished by any of the load balancing algorithms disclosed herein,or by any other appropriate load balancing algorithm. In one example,assigning each flow to a bucket comprises assigning according to method900 of FIG. 9, based on Dev-110-1-IP and Dev-110-2-IP respectively. Inthat case, TCAM 329 may include a table mapping masked IP addressfragments to traffic buckets.

In block 640, load balancing engine 320 assigns each flow to a node forservicing, such as a workload server in workload cluster 142. This maybe a deterministic assignment based on the traffic bucket that each flowwas assigned to. For increased speed, this may also be performed usingTCAM 329. For example, TCAM 329 may include a table mapping trafficbuckets to service nodes.

In block 660, load balancing engine 320 rewrites the L2 header for theincoming packets. For example, assuming that flow F1 was assigned toservice node 1 in workload cluster 142, and flow F2 was assigned toservice node 2 in workload cluster 142, load balancing engine 320rewrites the L2 headers for the packets in those flows to direct them totheir respective service nodes.

In block 680, switch 190 is finished with its load balancing tasks, andnow acts as a switch, switching or routing the packets to the nodesprovided by their new L2 headers.

Blocks 610 through 680 are repeated for each incoming packet, with anappropriate bucket and service node being selected for each. Assuming awell-configured load balancing engine 320, packets will be welldistributed across available service nodes in workload cluster 142 sothat workload is optimally distributed across available service nodes.

Reverse traffic (response from service nodes to client devices) aredelivered directly to the respective clients without any interventionfrom load balancing engine 320.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram view 700 of method 600 as described in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a network according to one or more examplesof the present specification. In this example, a load balancing switch190 services a subnetwork 810. This subnetwork is designated, in CIDRnotation, as 10.10.10.0/24. Four service nodes, 146-1, 146-2, 146-3, and146-4, are shown by way of example. These have IP addresses 10.10.10.1,10.10.10.4, 10.10.10.8, and 10.10.10.12 respectively.

As discussed above, this subnetwork can be referred to in a routingtable by the CIDR notation 10.10.10.0/24. However, this designation maylack scalability.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a more scalable network, having a pluralityof subnetworks 910-1, 910-2, 910-3, 910-4, and 910-5. Each subnetwork910 may be identical or similar, or subnetworks 910 may be completelydifferent from one another. However, in this example, subnetworks 910share the characteristic that each has, at address 4, a service node 146that performs a similar purpose. Thus, it is beneficial to configureload balancing switch 190 to forward certain classes of traffic to all10.x.10.4 nodes in the larger network.

To accomplish this, load balancing switch 190 includes a rule, such asin TCAM 329, that matches all traffic of the form 10.0.10.4-ff00ffff.The bitmask may be applied, for example, in a bitwise AND operation,meaning that bits masked by “1” retain their state, and bits masked by“0” are forced to “0.” Furthermore, load balancing engine 320 isconfigured to understand that any bits masked by “0” are to be treatedas a “don't care” state, meaning that they always match. Thus, the mask10.0.10.4-ff00ffff will match all addresses from 10.0.10.4-10.255.10.4(varying only the second octet in each address). This may appear in theTCAM with an entry of the form 10.x.10.4.

Although this example discloses a specific embodiment wherein acontiguous 8 bits are used to mask a particular octet in an IPv4address, this embodiment is not intended to be limiting. In appropriatecircumstances, any arbitrary bit mask could be applied to an address ofany arbitrary size.

The IPv6 address space includes several different forms (such asunicast, link-local, multicast, solicited-mode multicast, andunicast-prefix-based multicast), each with a number of fields atdesignated bit positions. A bitmask according to the presentspecification may be used in one example to mask out one or more fieldsat different positions with the address, thus providing greatflexibility and scalability in routing and load balancing.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a method 1000 according to one or moreexamples of the present specification.

In block 1010, load balancing switch 190 receives incoming networktraffic.

In block 1030, load balancing engine 320 load balances the incomingtraffic according to methods described herein.

In block 1050, load balancing engine 320 masks the VIP address of theload balanced traffic. Note that while all operations in the methodsdisclosed herein need not necessarily be performed in the disclosedorder, it is particularly important to understand that the loadbalancing and masking operations disclosed here are not necessarilydiscrete operations that perform one after the other. In someembodiments, masking the VIP may be part of the load balancingoperation, and may be performed in programmable hardware in connectionwith the load balancing operation. In other examples, it may be aseparate operation performed in software, either before or after theload balancing operation.

IN block 1070, load balancing engine 320 redirects and load-balancestraffic to service nodes 146,

In block 1090, the method is done.

Note that in this Specification, references to various features (e.g.,elements, structures, modules, components, steps, operations,characteristics, etc.) included in “one embodiment”, “exampleembodiment”, “an embodiment”, “another embodiment”, “some embodiments”,“various embodiments”, “other embodiments”, “alternative embodiment”,and the like are intended to mean that any such features are included inone or more embodiments of the present disclosure, but may or may notnecessarily be combined in the same embodiments. Furthermore, the words“optimize,” “optimization,” and related terms are terms of art thatrefer to improvements in speed and/or efficiency of a specified outcomeand do not purport to indicate that a process for achieving thespecified outcome has achieved, or is capable of achieving, an “optimal”or perfectly speedy/perfectly efficient state.

In example implementations, at least some portions of the activitiesoutlined herein may be implemented in software in, for example,provisioned in service appliance 224 and/or switch 190 (e.g., throughvarious modules, algorithms, processes, etc.). In some embodiments, oneor more of these features may be implemented in hardware, providedexternal to these elements, or consolidated in any appropriate manner toachieve the intended functionality. Service appliance 224 and/or switch190 may include software (or reciprocating software) that can coordinatein order to achieve the operations as outlined herein. In still otherembodiments, these elements may include any suitable algorithms,hardware, software, components, modules, interfaces, or objects thatfacilitate the operations thereof.

Furthermore, switch 190 and service appliance 224 described and shownherein (and/or their associated structures) may also include suitableinterfaces for receiving, transmitting, and/or otherwise communicatingdata or information in a network environment. Additionally, some of theprocessors and memories associated with the various network elements maybe removed, or otherwise consolidated such that a single processor and asingle memory location are responsible for certain activities. In ageneral sense, the arrangements depicted in the FIGURES may be morelogical in their representations, whereas a physical architecture mayinclude various permutations, combinations, and/or hybrids of theseelements. It is imperative to note that countless possible designconfigurations can be used to achieve the operational objectivesoutlined here. Accordingly, the associated infrastructure has a myriadof substitute arrangements, design choices, device possibilities,hardware configurations, software implementations, equipment options,etc.

In some of example embodiments, one or more memories (e.g., memory 392,memory 388) can store data used for the operations described herein.This includes the memory being able to store instructions (e.g., as partof logic, software, code, etc.) that are executed to carry out theactivities described in this Specification. A processor can execute anytype of instructions associated with the data to achieve the operationsdetailed herein in this Specification. In one example, processors 386and processor 390 could transform an element or an article (e.g., data)from one state or thing to another state or thing. In another example,the activities outlined herein may be implemented with fixed logic orprogrammable logic (e.g., software/computer instructions executed by aprocessor) and the elements identified herein could be some type of aprogrammable processor, programmable digital logic (e.g., a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), an erasable programmable read onlymemory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory(EEPROM)), an ASIC that includes digital logic, software, code,electronic instructions, flash memory, optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs,magnetic or optical cards, other types of machine-readable mediumssuitable for storing electronic instructions, or any suitablecombination thereof.

In operation, components in system 110 can include one or more memoryelements (e.g., memory 388, memory 392) for storing information to beused in achieving operations as outlined herein. These devices mayfurther keep information in any suitable type of non-transitory storagemedium (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), erasable programmable read only memory(EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), etc.),software, hardware, or in any other suitable component, device, element,or object where appropriate and based on particular needs. Theinformation being tracked, sent, received, or stored in system 110 couldbe provided in any database, register, table, cache, queue, controllist, or storage structure, based on particular needs andimplementations, all of which could be referenced in any suitabletimeframe. Any of the memory items discussed herein should be construedas being encompassed within the broad term ‘memory.’ Similarly, any ofthe potential processing elements, modules, and machines described inthis Specification should be construed as being encompassed within thebroad term ‘processor.’

It is also important to note that the operations and steps describedwith reference to the preceding FIGURES illustrate only some of thepossible scenarios that may be executed by, or within, the system. Someof these operations may be deleted or removed where appropriate, orthese steps may be modified or changed considerably without departingfrom the scope of the discussed concepts. In addition, the timing ofthese operations may be altered considerably and still achieve theresults taught in this disclosure. The preceding operational flows havebeen offered for purposes of example and discussion. Substantialflexibility is provided by the system in that any suitable arrangements,chronologies, configurations, and timing mechanisms may be providedwithout departing from the teachings of the discussed concepts.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail withreference to particular arrangements and configurations, these exampleconfigurations and arrangements may be changed significantly withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,although the present disclosure has been described with reference toparticular communication exchanges involving certain network access,formatting, and protocols, system 110 may be applicable to otherexchanges, formats, or routing protocols. Moreover, although system 110has been illustrated with reference to particular elements andoperations that facilitate the communication process, these elements,and operations may be replaced by any suitable architecture or processthat achieves the intended functionality of system 110.

Computer program logic implementing all or part of the functionalitydescribed herein is embodied in various forms, including, but in no waylimited to, a source code form, a computer executable form, and variousintermediate forms (for example, forms generated by an assembler,compiler, linker, or locator). In an example, source code includes aseries of computer program instructions implemented in variousprogramming languages, such as an object code, an assembly language, ora high-level language such as OpenCL, Fortran, C, C++, JAVA, or HTML foruse with various operating systems or operating environments. The sourcecode may define and use various data structures and communicationmessages. The source code may be in a computer executable form (e.g.,via an interpreter), or the source code may be converted (e.g., via atranslator, assembler, or compiler) into a computer executable form.

In one example embodiment, any number of electrical circuits of theFIGURES may be implemented on a board of an associated electronicdevice. The board can be a general circuit board that can hold variouscomponents of the internal electronic system of the electronic deviceand, further, provide connectors for other peripherals. Morespecifically, the board can provide the electrical connections by whichthe other components of the system can communicate electrically. Anysuitable processors (inclusive of digital signal processors,microprocessors, supporting chipsets, etc.), memory elements, etc. canbe suitably coupled to the board based on particular configurationneeds, processing demands, computer designs, etc. Other components suchas external storage, additional sensors, controllers for audio/videodisplay, and peripheral devices may be attached to the board as plug-incards, via cables, or integrated into the board itself. In anotherexample embodiment, the electrical circuits of the FIGURES may beimplemented as stand-alone modules (e.g., a device with associatedcomponents and circuitry configured to perform a specific application orfunction) or implemented as plug-in modules into application specifichardware of electronic devices.

Note that with the numerous examples provided herein, interaction may bedescribed in terms of two, three, four, or more electrical components.However, this has been done for purposes of clarity and example only. Itshould be appreciated that the system can be consolidated in anysuitable manner. Along similar design alternatives, any of theillustrated components, modules, and elements of the FIGURES may becombined in various possible configurations, all of which are clearlywithin the broad scope of this Specification. In certain cases, it maybe easier to describe one or more of the functionalities of a given setof flows by only referencing a limited number of electrical elements. Itshould be appreciated that the electrical circuits of the FIGURES andits teachings are readily scalable and can accommodate a large number ofcomponents, as well as more complicated/sophisticated arrangements andconfigurations. Accordingly, the examples provided should not limit thescope or inhibit the broad teachings of the electrical circuits aspotentially applied to a myriad of other architectures.

There is disclosed in an example a load balancing network apparatus,comprising: a first network interface operable to communicatively coupleto a first network; a plurality of second network interfaces operable tocommunicatively couple to a second network; and one or more logicelements comprising a load balancing engine operable for: receiving anaddress mask; receiving an incoming network packet; masking adestination virtual network address with the address mask to match aplurality of virtual ip addresses; and load balancing the incomingnetwork packet to the plurality of service nodes.

There is further disclosed an example, further comprising one or morelogic elements comprising a switching engine.

There is further disclosed an example, wherein the switching engine andload balancing engine are configured to be provided on the same hardwareas each other and as the first network interface and plurality of secondnetwork interfaces.

There is further disclosed an example, wherein the load balancing engineis further operable for assigning the incoming network packet to theplurality of service nodes based on a load balancing tag, comprisingdeterministically assigning the service node based on the load balancingtag.

There is further disclosed an example, wherein masking the virtualnetwork address comprises applying an AND mask to the network address.

There is further disclosed an example, wherein masking the virtualnetwork address comprises searching a content-addressable memory (CAM).

There is further disclosed an example, wherein the CAM is a ternary CAM(TCAM), and wherein searching for the virtual network address comprisesusing don't-care values for masked-out bit positions.

There is further disclosed an example of a method comprising performingsome or all of the operations disclosed in any of the precedingexamples.

There is further disclosed an example of one or more tangible,non-transitory computer-readable mediums having stored thereonexecutable instructions for performing the method or the operations ofany of the preceding examples.

There is further disclosed an example comprising means for performingthe method, or operating the computer-readable medium, of any of thepreceding examples.

There is further disclosed an example wherein the means comprise acomputing system.

There is further disclosed an example wherein the means comprise aprocessor and a memory.

There is further disclosed an example wherein the means compriseprogrammable hardware, such as an ASIC or an FPGA.

Numerous other changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, andmodifications may be ascertained to one skilled in the art and it isintended that the present disclosure encompass all such changes,substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications as fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims. In order to assist the UnitedStates Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and, additionally, anyreaders of any patent issued on this application in interpreting theclaims appended hereto, Applicant wishes to note that the Applicant: (a)does not intend any of the appended claims to invoke paragraph six (6)of 35 U.S.C. section 112 as it exists on the date of the filing hereofunless the words “means for” or “steps for” are specifically used in theparticular claims; and (b) does not intend, by any statement in theSpecification, to limit this disclosure in any way that is not otherwisereflected in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hardware network switch configured to provide native load balancing, comprising: a first network interface operable to communicatively couple to a first network; a plurality of second network interfaces operable to communicatively couple to a second network comprising a plurality of virtual line cards; one or more processors comprising a switching engine to provide network switching between the first network interface and the plurality of second network interfaces; and one or more processors comprising a load balancing engine operable for: receiving an address mask; receiving an incoming network packet; masking a destination virtual network address with the address mask to match a plurality of virtual Internet Protocol addresses by searching a ternary content-addressable memory using don't-care values for masked-out bit positions; and based on the masking, load balancing the incoming network packet to the plurality of virtual line cards based on one or more tags of the plurality of virtual Internet Protocol addresses including an Internet Protocol address, a protocol, and a port number, wherein the one or more tags comprise entries in the ternary content-addressable memory; wherein the load balancing engine is configured to be provided on the hardware network switch.
 2. The hardware network switch of claim 1, further comprising one or more processors comprising a switching engine.
 3. The hardware network switch of claim 2, wherein the switching engine and the load balancing engine are configured to be provided on the same hardware as each other and as the first network interface and the plurality of second network interfaces.
 4. The hardware network switch of claim 1, wherein masking the destination virtual network address comprises applying an AND mask to the network address.
 5. The hardware network switch of claim 1, wherein the address mask is configured to mask out a plurality of bits at different positions of the destination virtual network address.
 6. The hardware network switch of claim 1, wherein the load balancing engine is further operable for: mapping the incoming network packet to a traffic bucket.
 7. One or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums having stored thereon executable instructions for providing a load balancing engine on a hardware network switch, the load balancing engine operable for: receiving an address mask; receiving an incoming network packet; masking a destination virtual network address with the address mask to match a plurality of virtual Internet Protocol addresses by searching a ternary content-addressable memory using don't-care values for masked-out bit positions; and based on the masking, load balancing the incoming network packet to a plurality of virtual line cards based on one or more tags of the plurality of virtual Internet Protocol addresses including an Internet Protocol address, a protocol, and a port number, wherein the one or more tags comprise entries in the ternary content-addressable memory; wherein the load balancing engine is configured to be provided on the hardware network switch.
 8. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums of claim 7, further comprising executable instructions for providing a switching engine.
 9. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums of claim 8, wherein the switching engine and the load balancing engine are configured to be provided on the same hardware as each other and as a first network interface and a plurality of second network interfaces.
 10. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums of claim 9, wherein the first network interface is operable to communicatively couple to a first network, and the plurality of second network interfaces is operable to communicatively couple to a second network comprising the plurality of virtual line cards.
 11. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums of claim 7, wherein masking the destination virtual network address comprises applying an AND mask to the network address.
 12. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums of claim 7, wherein the address mask is configured to mask out a plurality of bits at different positions of the destination virtual network address.
 13. The one or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums of claim 7, wherein the load balancing engine is further operable for: mapping the incoming network packet to a traffic bucket.
 14. A method for providing a load balancing engine on a hardware network switch, comprising: receiving an address mask; receiving an incoming network packet; masking a destination virtual network address with the address mask to match a plurality of virtual Internet Protocol addresses by searching a ternary content-addressable memory using don't-care values for masked-out bit positions; and based on the masking, load balancing the incoming network packet to a plurality of virtual line cards based on one or more tags of the plurality of virtual Internet Protocol addresses including an Internet Protocol address, a protocol, and a port number, wherein the one or more tags comprise entries in the ternary content-addressable memory; wherein the load balancing engine is configured to be provided on the hardware network switch.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising providing a switching engine.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the switching engine and the load balancing engine are configured to be provided on the same hardware as each other and as a first network interface and a plurality of second network interfaces.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first network interface is operable to communicatively couple to a first network, and the plurality of second network interfaces is operable to communicatively couple to a second network comprising the plurality of virtual line cards.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein masking the destination virtual network address comprises applying an AND mask to the network address.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the address mask is configured to mask out a plurality of bits at different positions of the destination virtual network address.
 20. The method of claim 14, further comprising: mapping the incoming network packet to a traffic bucket. 